


Seeds of Discord Part 22

by kbj1123



Series: Wonder Woman & Captain America [23]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Crossover Pairings, F/M, One True Pairing, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3392885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbj1123/pseuds/kbj1123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone or something is causing violent riots to erupt all over the U.S., and whatever it is, it wreaks havoc with both Wonder Woman's health and Bruce Banner's ability to keep his rage in check.</p><p>Showdown at the Concordance Lab</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeds of Discord Part 22

The van drops them off three blocks from the container yard and drives off. Thor steps out from a shadowy alley and joins them. They nod at each other in greeting. Steve looks ahead. The yard looks like a small-scale city in the dark. A single streetlight fizzles in and out. Even the dingy bars are empty and dead. The streetlight should be a signpost hanging from a single hinge, Steve thinks. Then all that would be missing, are a few tumbleweeds and some sand, and they’d be in a ghost town in a western, rather than a freezing, deserted street. The team quietly begins its descent down the hill, toward their target with Tony leading the way, using his sensors to seek out the gamma signatures that will lead them to Bruce. 

“I think they’re expecting us,” Natasha says quietly, looking ahead down a row of cubes, toward a low-ceilinged warehouse. “It’s too quiet. It’s a trap.” 

“Maybe so,” Thor replies, but we have no choice but to enter. Steve kicks the warehouse doors in. The room is dark and empty except for a few low stacks of wooden crates. “Okay, here’s how we pair up,” he begins, but he is alone. The rest of the team has already split up in search of clues. He shakes his head and wonders why he even bothers with plans. He silently agrees with Natasha, though. It is too quiet in here. He can hear the footfalls of his fellow Avengers as they echo across the bare floors. It is almost impossible to see more than a few inches in front of him at a time. He hears the low breathing of someone near him. The room abruptly fills with fluorescent light as he thrusts out his hand and grabs an unidentified person by the neck. “Steve!” 

He releases Diana. “Sorry.” Diana glares at him, and then points to a large crate standing by itself. She walks toward it and motions him to follow. When the team assembles around it, Steve lifts the lid and looks down at a stairwell. They file in and head down the steep, well-lit stairs, which end in a wide, also well-lit hallway. Before he can survey the area, an explosion lifts him off his feet, sending him, along with Thor, Natasha, and Clint, sliding towards a newly opened crater in the middle of the floor. Before he hits the ground below, there is a metallic whoosh as Iron Man grabs him by the waist and lowers him to the ground. Thor lands in a crouch a few feet away; Wonder Woman glides onto the floor with one arm around Natasha and the other around Clint. Lab tables filled with scientific apparatus fill the cavernous room. 

Steve looks around to estimate how many enemies surround them. There are well over a dozen, he quickly surmises, and as Natasha predicted, no one seems surprised to see them. He moves his hand to signal everyone to spread out; just as he begins his direction, the floor rocks, jolting him and his teammates across the room with explosive force. Steve sprawls on the floor, barely keeping his grip on his shield as he crashes into a small metal cart. Glass shards scatter around him. 

Instead of looking to find the source of the blasts, Steve ascertains that the ground beneath his feet is absolutely stable, and then he takes a step back to get his bearings. The room goes dark and electricity shocks through his left arm. He stiffens and drops his shield. “That was for Sarx,” Nyx growls. He is so close that Steve can feel his hot breath before his features come into focus. From behind Nyx, Steve sees another combatant rush at Clint from a blind spot. He wants to yell “look out,” but the shock from Nyx’s attack has left him breathless. As Nyx prepares another blow with the electric prod, Steve drops to his knees and scoops up his shield, then rams it into his opponent’s knees, knocking Nyx’s weapon across the room. 

On the far end of the room, Diana sees Bruce. He is in a small glass room and is hooked up to several wires and tubes. As she hastens toward him, she hears Thor yell, “Princess, to your left!” Diana whips around in time to see Eris charge her with a sword. She grabs a lab stool and smashes it into the oncoming weapon, causing Eris to lose her balance and fall backward into a table full of equipment. “This is not your war!” Diana entreats. “Leave your goddess name behind and surrender!” Eris supports herself on the edge of the table, facing Diana with pure fury. She steadies her sword again as Diana braces for another attack.

Nyx smirks at Diana’s plea and swings at Steve with his fist. It is flesh, but it feels like a hammer as it lands on Steve’s left shoulder. “What the?” Steve somersaults backward and onto his feet. From behind, he hears Tony blast his repulsor rays. Something pungent and chemical burns through the air, blurring Steve’s vision. His lungs and throat sting. The room spins. He waves an arm around, blindly for seeking support. “Over here, mortal. I am becoming a god!” Nyx says. Steve’s eyes burn and he doesn’t trust what he sees. He staggers and shakes his head. Light green seeps through Nyx’s skin and rips through his clothes. Then he takes another swing. Steve bows left and Nyx’s enormous green fist slams into a table, denting the steel and smashing more equipment. 

Near Bruce’s holding room, Eris hoists her sword overhead and launches herself at Diana. Diana ducks her head, whirls right, and roundhouse kicks Eris. Eris blocks her with the wide end of her sword, causing Diana to land too heavily and stumble. Eris rears back her fist and sends it into Diana’s temple, knocking her flat on her back. She slides across the floor. She grabs for her lasso, but the pointed toe of Eris’ boot lands in Diana’s throat before she unhooks it. She swallows and feels something cold and metallic slash through her and press its way down. Something acidic and bitter rises to the back of her tongue.

Somewhere a woman has just cried out in agonizing pain. Natasha? Diana needs to get up and help her. She opens her eyes and sees red and black lines. A moment or two later, she realizes it is her hair. It is her hair, drenched in her own blood. It is she who had cried out. Wonder Woman is the woman in agonizing pain; it is she who has been stabbed. She lifts her hand. Her hair paints wetness across her face as she sweeps it from her eyes. Another woman screams and Eris lands in a heap beside Diana face down. Several arrows stick out from her back. Or maybe it’s one arrow. The room blurs and tilts.

She closes her eyes and listens to the violence around her. Glass and metal clang against a shield. Heavy, soft things whoosh across the room and fall to the ground with heavy thuds. The floor is warm and wet and she lays her head back down. It’s like bathwater over a marble floor. She slides her hand through it. It’s like home. It hurts to move her arm too far. “You stay awake, Diana!” A man’s voice calls from far away. It’s a voice that makes her smile. That voice, too, reminds her of home. He won’t be angry if she sleeps just for a little while. He’s never angry at her for very long. She inhales deeply; she finds that she cannot inhale deeply. Something in her mouth still doesn’t taste or smell right. It’s vaguely metallic. She feels cold, and the floor is warm and womblike.

“Angel! Keep your eyes open!” The offending word makes her open her eyes and looks down across her torso. She is pinned to the floor with a sword. Diana wants to laugh. Who in Man’s World fights with a sword? She can get it out though. She forces her hands to the sword’s hilt. She begins to tug. By the fourth tug she hears another man’s voice shout out an expletive and a command “Help her!” Then shocking red light burns through her entire body.


End file.
